Why it pays to switch from bad energy suppliers

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If you aren’t satisfied with the service you receive from your energy supplier or how much you’re paying, it’s time to vote with your feet.

Almost five million complaints against the ‘Big Six’ energy suppliers were received by the energy regulator Ofgem last year, although this was 1.5 million fewer complaints less than in 2014. Ofgem said that the number of complaints remains “too high” and that suppliers must make further improvements.

Npower and Scottish Power came bottom of the Ofgem tables for nearly all customer satisfaction measures out of the larger suppliers. Npower was fined £26m at the end of last year for failing to deal with customer complaints correctly and sending out inaccurate bills, while Scottish Power was fined £18m last week for customer service failings due to the implementation of a new computer system.

Poor service costing customers

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Scottish Power failed its customers not once but twice. Not only did the firm struggle to get people’s bills right first time, it also failed to sort out the problems when

“Providing someone with an accurate, timely bill which reflects how much gas or electricity they have used is a fundamental part of running an energy firm. But time and time again we’re seeing big companies introduce new billing systems which leave customers in limbo - with the wrong bill and no way to sort it out.”

Many people have already chosen to turn their backs on the Big Six, with Ofgem announcing last month that energy switching has increased by 8% over the last year.

Mark Todd of energyhelpline.com said: “It’s no surprise that switching energy supplier is catching on as it’s the easiest way for most people to save money. The average saving on energyhelpline in April has been £354 a year. Customers who don’t switch are effectively giving their supplier this money unnecessarily.

“With over 40 suppliers now on the market there’s more choice than ever, and the time it takes to switch has been cut to two to four weeks.”

Those switching save hundreds of pounds

Even though energy switching levels are up, there are still millions of people who have never switched suppliers and who could be missing out not only on better customer service, but also on cheaper tariffs.

Ben Wilson, energy spokesperson at Gocompare.com, said: “The energy market has been fundamentally changed by the arrival of new players. In recent years we’ve seen the biggest price war the market has ever experienced, largely fuelled by the newcomers. As a result, there is now an opportunity to change consumer behaviour for the better and get a generation of bill payers into the habit of shopping around and taking control of their energy outgoings.

“The likes of Ofgem need to be shouting from the rooftops at the moment because there are still millions of households that are stranded on standard tariffs and missing out on huge savings. From our own research, 43% of households have switched energy provider in the last three years but 57% haven’t, with almost a third saying they have never switched energy provider.”

Switching suppliers is easy, and can be done either online or over the phone. All you need is a copy of your latest energy bill, as this will tell you which tariff you are currently on, and how much energy you use. Once you’ve found a tariff you want to switch to, the whole process should take no longer than 17 days. Your energy supply won’t be interrupted during this period.

Mr Todd of energyhelpline said: “Online price comparison and switching tends to take customers just 10 minutes. Switching over the phone takes a little longer but then someone else will do all the forms for you.”

**Savings calculated against the latest OFGEM Supply Market Indicator for average UK home energy bills. UK average dual fuel bill for next year calculated as £1,254 a year.*

1.) Source: energyhelpline.com,
2.) All calculations are for an average usage dual fuel household paying by monthly direct debit.
3.) Average usage as defined by OFGEM is 12,000 kWh pa of gas and 3,100 kWh pa of electricity.
4.) Expected savings include the announced price rises.

To compare energy tariffs across the market and find the cheapest deal in your area, contact Telegraph Energy Switching on 0333 414 2671